The California Legislature is in its final days of the 2012 session. This is the time of year when back-room deals surface with little notice or scrutiny, and almost always lead to bad news for the state's taxpayers.

What does a back-room deal look like in our Capitol? Republicans and Democrats each compromise on something and find a middle ground. That might sound good in theory, but there are two very practical problems that make the case for why any deal in Sacramento only leads to larger state government, with broader state powers.

Firstly, the cost of doing a deal is always higher taxes or more debt. Thanks to Proposition 13, it takes a two-thirds vote of the state Senate and Assembly to raise taxes. Because Democrats literally can do anything with a majority vote except raise taxes, the only reason they enter into "deals" with Republicans is to raise taxes. So, when you hear there is a "bipartisan deal" shaping up -- hold onto your wallet.

Right now, there are special interests trying to piece together a particularly onerous deal. There is a proposal to bring some commonsense reforms to the California Environmental Quality Act process, to make it more business-friendly, which, on its own, is a fabulous idea. But the Democrats would never make a deal to gut CEQA unless they were getting a tax increase in return. In return for Democrat votes to alter CEQA, three Republicans were expected to provide the necessary votes to enact a permanent billion-dollar annual tax increase on multistate businesses. Never mind that it means that we will all pay more for everything from a cup of Starbucks coffee to our breakfast cereal.

A second reason for Republican legislators to refuse to cut deals with the Democrats is that the majority party reneges on its deals – regularly. The Democrats run the table, and have a governor in the corner office. This means that things they "give away" in a deal – regulatory relief and such – can later be undone with a majority vote. But, of course, the tax hikes that were a part of that original deal remain.

Does this actually happen? It sure does. Here are just a few examples:

•ACA4 – As part of the bipartisan 2010 budget deal, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 4 was scheduled to be on this past June ballot. ACA4 would strengthen the state's rainy-day fund. Democrats reneged and moved this measure to the November 2014 ballot.

•In 2007, a bipartisan agreement produced Assembly Bill 900, revenue lease-bond authority for 16,000 in-fill beds to alleviate prison crowding and prevent the early release of inmates. In budget a budget trailer bill this year, Democrats reneged on this deal by reducing the amount to be spent on in-fill beds by close to $3 billion.

•In the 2009 bipartisan budget deal, various efforts to prevent and detect fraud in the In Home Supportive Services program were enacted. In 2011, those efforts were repealed by the majority party

I could literally go on and on. The list of deals unilaterally undone by Capitol Democrats could fill up an entire column.

If Republicans put up the votes for the massive business tax increase, and in return the Democrats put up the votes to gut CEQA. Well, when the next year rolls by, the Democrats can reinstate CEQA by a mere majority vote. If history is any indicator, you can count on it. Characteristic of these clandestine deals is that it is hard for the outside observer to really know what is taking place. Often times public pronouncements are part of an internal political Kabuki dance.

Given these realities — one hopes that these bad end-of-session deals never come to fruition. But of course you can never rest easy until the session formally ends.

.

WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Letters to the Editor: E-mail to letters@ocregister.com.
Please provide your name, city and telephone number (telephone numbers will not be published).
Letters of about 200 words or videos of 30-seconds
each will be given preference. Letters will be edited for length, grammar and clarity.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.